Greetings to all lovers of Armorial Bookplates! Especially to collectors of these beautiful items.

Armorial Bookplates have been around for hundreds of years, and whilst they may appear to be in decline I can assure you that many people still seek and acquire a personal armorial bookplate. I have not used the common term 'Ex Libris' to describe a bookplate because I suspect that most armorial bookplates today are produced not only to paste into books, but to be admired! Often the work of well known heraldic artists, bookplates are a thing of beauty and of course are very convenient to use when wishing to show friends your coat of arms; you should always keep one or two in your pocket or handbag to impress your friends when discussing heraldry, or introducing the subject to interested parties etc.

My specific interest in all this is collecting them! And here I must say the collecting of Modern Armorial Bookplates is not easy, one has to rely on finding armigers who have had plates made, or in many cases have produced their own, and contacting them with a view to exchanging their plate for mine, happily, I usually get a positive response and hopefully also encourage enough interest to start off another collector of armorial bookplates!

I am most indebted to John for his suggestion that I should include details of my web site, which is devoted to the collection of "Modern Armorial Bookplates" and would hope that anyone who is interested in exchanging their plate for my own would please use the web site contact page for details. There are many beautiful armorial plates to be seen there and information regarding producing and displaying bookplates etc. Many thanks John.

I must admit I do like bookplates, it can allow an artist to really express themselves....You should right an article for the new International Heraldry Society regarding bookplates. We are going to need a few.

Kathy McClurg wrote:I have generally gone to e-readers... If anyone knows how to place an image as the "screen saver" for a Kindle....

Just give me some markers and paint, and you'll get that screensaver.

Honestly, I've never used a Kindle, and I have no plans to use an e-reader in the near future. As much as I like tech stuff, I still prefer the feel of dead trees in my hands while I read.

I really thought I'd be the same way - but... It's SO NICE to have the whole library in your hand sometimes. I can read multiple books as I see fit, have a number of reference documents on the kindle which now goes to work with me, too.

There are books which, after I read/start on the kindle, I sometimes buy hardcopy as well for a variety of reasons...

There is a place for both - and you can buy kindle covers that feel (and look) like a fine leather tome (albeit a skinny one).